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2010 Foreign Film Oscar Analysis

2010 was not a good year for foreign movies at all, which did result in a lackluster slate from the Academy. There is only one movie here that I loved and thankfully that one ended up getting the award in a rare worthy choice from the Academy.

My Ranking of the Nominees:

5. Dogtooth

I am not a fan of Yorgos Lanthimos and I find him to be extremely overrated. Dogtooth is about a husband and wife who keep their children locked in the house and keep them unaware of the outside world. Now granted, the premise is great and such an original idea, but such a lost potential in execution as it is one of those movies where violence is depicted for the sake of violence with no nuance at all. It’s a repulsive, grotesque movie that was by far the worst nominee in this slate.

4. Incendies

Incendies follows two Canadian twins who travel to their mother’s native country in the Middle East to uncover her hidden past, tied in with a bloody civil war. Yes, this slate is filled with too many crime movies and this was no exception. This movie was the reason why I had really disliked Villeneuve before he moved onto science fiction as his crime thrillers were ordinary in narrative and unoriginal in execution. There is not a single scene here that we haven’t seen a million times before and done much better.

3. Outside the Law

Outside the Law is an Algerian crime period film that deals with an important subject, but it failed to engage me due to its glacial pacing and overlong runtime. Although undeniably very well performed by its talented actors and technically polished, the film was too focused on the political than the personal lives of its characters, resulting in a muted, emotionally hollow viewing experience. This movie spawned a huge controversy back when it was released due to its subject matter, but the content itself is nowhere near as exciting as that.

2. Biutiful

Told that he is ill and has just a few months to live, a career criminal tries to get his affairs in order before the spirits, with whom he communes, come to claim him. This movie was directed by Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu in a year when big name directors dominated this category. The family scenes worked and the emotional engagement was undeniable. The main performance from Bardem was quite strong too. I just had problems with the movie’s other scenes that were far from interesting and its very bloated runtime that prevented me from enjoying it more.

1. In a Better World

In a Better World is overly ambitious without a doubt, but it mostly fulfilled its lofty aspirations, most especially in fantastic dialogue, amazing performances across the board and very well portrayed, realistic conflicts between the characters. It deals with some very important issues of bullying and masculinity in Scandinavian countries, it’s superbly directed by Susanne Bier and consistently dark, thrilling and engaging. It wasn’t just the best movie in this slate by far, but one of the best winners in this category of all time.

Films That Should Have Been Nominated:

Colorful – This anime movie has a complex and deep story filled with beautifully explored themes of loneliness, suicide, different personality traits, friendship and pressures of graduation. Colorful is an amazing animated drama that would have been nominated had the Academy not had bias for this medium.

Chico and Rita – Watching Chico and Rita, you will feel as if you are caught in a whirlwind of Latin sound and color as this is surely one culturally significant filmmaking piece like no other. It’s a wonderful animated tale that would be nominated in the animated category the next year, but it should have been included in this list.

Trollhunter –Trollhunter is such a successful, wildly entertaining mix of traditional American elements such as found footage and the traditional Norwegian elements such as troll art and fairy tales. The movie’s dialogue, humor and VFX are all very strong whereas the very imaginative mid section is the greatest part of this fun flick.